The satirist Jan Böhmermann explained in a podcast why he pushed the community of the German Twitch streamer Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris into a right-wing corner. He believes that the streamer must be aware of his reach to counteract right-wing tendencies. Böhmermann considers the radicalization of gamers to be a real danger.
This was the reason for the anger: The satirist Jan Böhmermann had talked in his podcast “Fest&Flauschig” about the largest German Twitch streamer Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris and his community, pushing them into a politically right-wing corner.
Böhmermann stated that Twitch is full of MontanaBlack fans and “even further right-wing neo-Nazis” who try to lure the MontanaBlack community.
MontanaBlack reacted to this statement during his stream with surprise and negativity: He accused Jan Böhmermann of being jealous of him and seeking attention with the attack.
Schulz & Böhmermann attacked by angry fans
These were the reactions from the podcasters’ perspective: Böhmermann and Schulz reported in the podcast “Fest&Flauschig” on May 5 about the incident and the reactions (via spotify). They talked about angry direct messages and voice messages from young and outraged MontanaBlack fans.
Musician Olli Schulz said: After he had a conversation with MontanaBlack and he declared him a “friend” on Twitter, people suddenly started to politely apologize to him. Shortly before, they had wished his mother dead.
Schulz and Böhmermann see this rapid change in tone as a sign of how easily MontanaBlack fans can be influenced.
Olli Schulz reports about the conciliatory phone call with MontanaBlack and relativizes Böhmermann’s accusations:
I have never heard a right-wing extremist expression or anything from him [MontanaBlack]. And he also said […], that this one photo, which exists and about which there were some reports with “Thor Steinar” people, might not belong to his greatest moments.
Olli Schulz in the podcast Fest&Flauschig
Schulz refers to a photo showing MontanaBlack with members of the motorcycle club “Nordmänner MC”. In the photo, one of the men was wearing a tracksuit from the brand “Thor Steinar”. This clothing brand is considered a hallmark of the far-right scene.
“Of course not all MontanaBlack fans are neo-Nazis”
This is what Jan Böhmermann says now:
Böhmermann initially approached the incident ironically. He said it slipped out while he was sitting in his gaming chair playing Mario Kart on his gaming computer. When he plays, he often says things like that, something gamers can surely relate to.
Later, Böhmermann noticeably addressed the problem more seriously.
He sees the issue that Twitch streamers have incredibly high reach and that their audience often consists of young men who are easily influenced. The whole area is unregulated.
The gaming community is a breeding ground for people who have “evil in mind.”
Therefore, streamers like MontanaBlack have a great responsibility:
I don’t think they are neo-Nazis or right-wing extremists. There has to be an awareness in a community with such people and such a group that this is a real danger and not one that I just imagine, but one that has already led to serious matters in the past few years, such as rampage shootings. The attack in New Zealand last year. That was a guy who live streamed during his attack – I mean, it was on Twitch.
Jan Böhmermann in the podcast Fest&Flauschig
In a March 2019 attack in New Zealand, 49 people lost their lives. The perpetrator called out in a Facebook livestream “Subscribe to PewDiePie.”
A German perpetrator, who carried out a terrorist attack in Halle in October 2019, broadcast his act on Twitch.
Twitch is unregulated, therefore streamers have great responsibility
Böhmermann elaborated that Twitch is an unregulated platform where no one is keeping an eye. There is no governmental authority regulating it. This attracts people who do things with the platform that they shouldn’t be doing.
As a community or as a streamer with an incredibly high reach, one should be careful and aware of one’s influence.
Especially since there is a small portion of people who have become radicalized. They try to fish people out of the community. According to Böhmermann, it lies with the leaders of the community, the stars, to take responsibility:
[…] It’s not: If you are a gamer, you are a right-wing extremist. And not: If you like MontanaBlack, you are a right-wing extremist. But these communities have been small, grew large, and the responsibility that the people who lead these communities have is often not clear to them. And there are a few candidates in the YouTuber community who are really aware of it. And there are also a few who simply don’t care. And that is the fundamental problem.
Jan Böhmermann in the podcast Fest&Flauschig
Böhmermann is concerned about gamer boys who want to be radical and become radicalized
This is what Böhmermann is essentially about: The difficulty is the possible radicalization of young players while playing online games, Böhmermann says, and those who think it’s cool to perform in a group.
Böhmermann talks about a “well-kept 48-hour shift Fortnite,” where one can become emotional and a bit more extreme. One might let slip an ironically meant “Heil Hitler.” This then attracts people with political intent. They lured aimless boys who wanted to outdo each other.
Some wanted to be even more ironic and extreme. And then you have “3 boys in the channel who are no longer harmless boys,” Böhmermann said.
Eventually, irony can turn into seriousness. That is a real danger. Böhmermann wants “the stars” to take more responsibility and be aware of their influence on young viewers.
The Twitch streamer MontanaBlack is the largest Twitch streamer in Germany with 2.53 million followers.
He reached a peak on Twitch in September 2019, when he was No. 2 in watched hours among all streamers worldwide. A mix of gambling streams and FIFA 20 brought great success. In September 2019, he had an average of 50,000 viewers – at times there were 181,600 simultaneous viewers.
